It needs to be said

I don't mean to be heartless, but I need to say something that I'm betting a whole lot of Kansas City Royals fans are thinking right now.

According to the Royals Web site, manager Trey Hillman is going to be gone from the bench the next three games to attend his father-in-law's funeral.

Earlier in the season, Hillman missed three games to be at his father-in-law's bedside and, if memory serves me right, he missed a sizable chunk of Spring Training because of his father-in-law's sickness.

So that means Hillman will have missed six games this season as well as part of Spring Training.

I understand the need to tend to sick relatives, and the need to grieve the loss of loved ones. But... I'm sorry, this guy is the manager of a Major League Baseball team. He can't miss six games and part of Spring Training in a single season. That's just ridiculous.

I can't begin to speculate on the relationship between Hillman and his father-in-law. It must be pretty damn strong. I won't say he should miss less time because it's his father-in-law and not his actual biological father. But I do know a player would never get six days off to tend to a dying relative. Never, not even a star player.

There's something weird going on here. General Manager Dayton Moore, who just got the job security of a four-year contract extension, must be have a real soft spot for Trey Hillman. When the skipper left in Spring Training to be by his father-in-law's bedside, Dayton Moore went with him.

Trey Hillman is a religious man, and I don't blame him for saying family comes first. It just seems like a double standard is being applied.

-- Matt Kelsey